Sean Hayes Is Larry in THE THREE STOOGES

To cast the role of Larry in The Three Stooges, the Farrelly brothers cycled through Sean Penn, Paul Giamatti, Andy Samberg, and most recently James Marsden. In the end, the slapstick-heavy role will go to Emmy winner and wild gesticulator Sean Hayes (Will & Grace). Hayes is the second official Stooge, following the hiring of Will Sasso ($h*! My Dad Says) to play Curly. Hank Azaria (Love and Other Drugs) was the latest actor to be mentioned as the frontrunner to portray ringleader Moe, but Variety‘s report lists no contenders it mentions that the role is up for grabs.

Hit the jump for more on the format and tone of the Stooges remake.

The mantra in trade reports when describing The Three Stooges is this: “The plan is to divide the PG-rated film into three, 27-minute segments driven by physical comedy.” (No, not a half hour! Make sure Variety knows each segment will last not a second longer than 27 minutes! -Fox Publicity.)

Co-director Peter Farrelly has previously described the brothers’ approach the film:

“There will be non-stop slapping, more in the tone of Dumb and Dumber than anything else we’ve done. Our goal is 85 minutes of laughs in a film that will be very respectful of who the Stooges were.”

In terms of supporting roles, Cher and Richard Jenkins have each been linked to the role of the nun who terrorizes the three as youngsters; it is unclear if either casting item still applies.

20th Century Fox hopes to get The Three Stooges in front of cameras sometime this spring in time for release in 2012.